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PARIS, FRANCE May 29. Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina on Court Suzanne Lenglen during the singles fourth round match at the 2022 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 29th 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Tennis | Rome 2023 | Men’s Draw Preview

Tony Fairbairn
Tennis

By Tony Fairbairn

  • Novak Djokovic returns from injury to defend his Rome title while Carlos Alcaraz is on the verge of becoming world number one.
  • Top Seeds: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud
  • British Interest: Cameron Norrie [13], Dan Evans [20], Andy Murray, Kyle Edmund [PR]
ROME, ITALY – Novak Djokovic returns from injury to defend his Rome title while Carlos Alcaraz is on the verge of becoming the new world number one.

 

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[1]  Novak Djokovic

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Best Result: Champion (2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2022)

After suffering with an arm injury, Djokovic is back and is looking for his seventh Rome title on the road to Roland Garros.

Djokovic’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)

  • R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
  • R2: Tomas Martin Etcheverry | H2H: First Meeting
  • R3: Grigor Dimitrov [26] | H2H: Djokovic leads 10-1
  • R4: Cameron Norrie [13] | H2H: Djokovic leads 2-0
  • QF: Holger Rune [7] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
  • SF: Casper Ruud [4] | H2H: Djokovic leads 4-0
  • F: Carlos Alcaraz [2] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 1-0

A potentially tricky opening round awaits Djokovic in the form of talented Frenchman Luca Van Assche in a rematch from their contest in Bosnia which the Serb won in two hours and 42 minutes. Given recent form and conditions, Djokovic should have no problem getting past Grigor Dimitrov and Cameron Norrie before a quarter-final match with either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Holger Rune. Should Djokovic reach the final then a good measure of where the Serb’s game is at could evolve when he takes on Alcaraz. Overall Djokovic will be looking to play his way into the tournament and will be hoping to take some confidence into Paris with a relatively easy first few rounds awaiting in Rome.

 

[2]  Carlos Alcaraz

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Best Result: N/A

After winning the Madrid title last week, Alcaraz just needs to show up to Rome to become the new world number one.

Alcaraz’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)

  • R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
  • R2: Albert Ramos-Vinolas | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-0
  • R3: Jiri Lehecka [32] | H2H: First Meeting
  • R4: Borna Coric [15] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 1-0
  • QF: Stefanos Tsitsipas [5] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 4-0
  • SF: Daniil Medvedev [3] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
  • F: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 1-0

Alcaraz has a fairly comfortable opening week although talented Czech Republican Jiri Lehecka will test the Spaniard’s variety and consistency in the third round. A Madrid semi-final rematch with Borna Coric could await in the last 16 before a potential quarter-final meeting with Stefanos Tsitsipas which Alcaraz would love given their head-to-head record. Overall the Spaniard has a very good chance of continuing his sweep of clay court titles heading into Roland Garros which based on form will see him as the favourite to win a second Grand Slam title of his career.

 

 

[3] Daniil Medvedev

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Best Results: Second Round (2021)

Medvedev will be hoping to reach the quarter-finals in Rome for the first time after failing to do so in Madrid last week.

Medvedev’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)

  • R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
  • R2: Emil Ruusuvuori | H2H: Medvedev leads 1-0
  • R3: Bernabe Zapata Miralles [31] | H2H: First Meeting
  • R4: Hubert Hurkacz [14] | H2H: Hurkacz leads 3-2
  • QF: Andrey Rublev [6] | H2H: Medvedev leads 5-2
  • SF: Carlos Alcaraz [2] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
  • F: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 9-5

A tough opening round awaits Medvedev against Emil Ruusuvuori who took a set off Alcaraz in Madrid last week. The slower conditions should help his game in that match but it might not help him against a clay court specialist such as Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the third round. Alexander Zverev may await in the last 16 with the German winning this event before. Medvedev will do well to reach the last eight in Rome but the heavy conditions may work against him as has proven to be the case in the past.

 

[4] Casper Ruud

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Best Result: Semi-Final (2020, 2022)

Another disappointing result for Ruud in Madrid means that the Norwegian must produce a deep run in Rome otherwise a big fall down the rankings could follow.

Ruud’s Path to the Final

  • R1: Bye | H2H: N/A
  • R2: Arthur Rinderknech | H2H: Ruud leads 1-0
  • R3: Ben Shelton [28] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
  • R4: Tommy Paul [16] | H2H: Ruud leads 3-1
  • QF: Jannik Sinner [8] | H2H: Sinner leads 2-0
  • SF: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 4-0
  • F: Carlos Alcaraz [2] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-0

Ruud will fancy his chances to win back-to-back matches for only a third time this season with Arthur Rinderknech and Ben Shelton in uninspired form at the moment. The match against Tommy Paul will provide the Norwegian with a stern test before a massive match against Jannik Sinner which could decide whether Ruud is in a good place ahead of Roland Garros. Ruud needs to reach the quarter-finals in what could be a pivotal tournament in deciding how the rest of the season goes for the Roland Garros and US Open finalist.

Rome takes place between 10-21 May.

 

 

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